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Melanie Creamer is a news assistant, who's worked at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram for nearly 16 years. She oversees various responsibilities from monitoring the news and business email addresses – to fetching old newspaper articles and photos from the archive. She’s the face behind the popular business “On the Move” column, which appears in Tuesdays and Thursdays newspapers. A compassionate and soft-spoken woman, Melanie is also the writer of the newspaper’s feature obituary. Many of her colleagues say she has one of the toughest jobs in the newsroom. She tells heart-breaking stories of love and loss. She listens as parents sob uncontrollably over the tragic death of their child. She writes touching stories about couples who have been married for 60 plus years, and then die within days or weeks from each other. Melanie was the recipient of the Maine Press Association’s Unsung Hero Award in 2015. A native of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she graduated from Fitchburg State College in 2000 with a degree in professional writing. She lives in Scarborough with her fiancée and is a co-parent to two daughters.

Latest
  • Published
    April 5, 2012

    Feature obituary: George Montpelier, 81, served Cape community

    CAPE ELIZABETH – George Montpelier, who generously gave back to his community, died on Sunday, less than two months after suffering a debilitating stroke. He was 81. He was a beloved member of St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church, where he served as an usher and eucharistic minister. He was also active in the Knights of Columbus, […]

  • Published
    April 3, 2012

    Feature Obituary: Russell Rogers, 52, proud of family and Marine Corps service

    SCARBOROUGH — Russell Rogers was a proud Marine. So were his grandfather, father, two brothers and a nephew, who is now serving in Japan. He served in the Marine Corps for 12 years and did two stints in Japan. He worked as a jet engine mechanic on military bases in Japan, Cherry Point and Camp […]

  • Published
    March 31, 2012

    Feature Obituary: Nancy Jimino, 74, Falmouth school bus driver for 33 years

    WINDHAM — In the 33 years Nancy Jimino drove buses for Falmouth schools, she got to know most of the students, as well as their parents. She was known across the school district for her strict approach to the rules and for putting students’ safety first. “She was excellent,” said Topper West, facilities and transportation […]

  • Published
    March 29, 2012

    Feature obituary: Daniel Leveris, 61, cleaning business owner and family man

    BRUNSWICK — Daniel Leveris and his wife Jane moved to Brunswick in 1973 with two used cars packed with wedding presents and a dream to build a life together. That year, the Leverises established Down East Cleaning, a well-respected janitorial and carpet cleaning business, which they operated for many years. Though Mr. Leveris was immensely […]

  • Published
    March 28, 2012

    Feature Obituary: Nancy Roberts, 53, landscaping business owner, loving mom

    Nancy Roberts, who owned and operated Billy Goat Landscaping with her husband for the past 32 years, died Monday after a valiant fight against pancreatic cancer.

  • Published
    March 23, 2012

    Feature Obituary: ‘Bud’ Hertz, 68, antiques dealer and more, ‘loved by many’

    OLD ORCHARD BEACH – Seems like everyone in town knew Bud Hertz. He was a well-respected antiques dealer and owned K & B Antiques on Route 1 in Saco for 29 years. He also worked for the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department. In his spare time, he refereed boys’ basketball games across southern Maine for […]

  • Published
    March 20, 2012

    Feature obituary: Danny Evans, 59, known and loved in Bailey Island area

    BAILEY ISLAND — Danny Evans, a well-known man who owned a boom truck and did work for local contractors and fishermen throughout the Harpswell area, died Saturday. He was 59. It seems that everyone knew Mr. Evans. He was the guy local fishermen called to lift an engine out of a lobster boat or rig […]

  • Published
    March 14, 2012

    Feature Obituary: Henry Bertin, 81, ‘icon’ who spread cheer with flowers

    PORTLAND — Henry S. Bertin, a longtime owner of Sawyer’s Flowers and Greenhouse who was widely viewed as an icon in the floral industry, died early Tuesday. He was 81. Mr. Bertin began working in the floral industry with his father, who owned greenhouses in Westbrook and at Woodfords Corner in Portland. He worked there […]

  • Published
    March 13, 2012

    Feature Obituary: Shirley Smith, 89, Spurwink School co-founder, top homemaker

    FALMOUTH — Shirley Smith, a co-founder of the Spurwink School, died Saturday after a long period of declining health. She was 89. She founded Spurwink in 1960 with her husband, the late Richard Smith, who was a licensed social worker in Portland. The program began in a four-bedroom farmhouse on Riverside Street that housed eight […]

  • Published
    March 9, 2012

    Feature Obituary: Carole Petrin, 77, devoted mother who lived life to its fullest

    BIDDEFORD – One spring-like day in the late 1970s, Carole Petrin picked up her kids from school early and drove them to Cranmore Mountain in North Conway, N.H., to go skiing. “I remember it being a beautiful spring skiing day,” said her daughter, Joannah Lapham of Kennebunk. “When you’re given a gift like (that), you […]